It is hard to believe that another year has come to a close. Even harder to believe is that 2021 was my second year as the full time preacher here in Cloudcroft, having moved here full-time in August of 2019. Our family is extremely humbled and grateful to be a part of this church family and I am extremely grateful for the opportunity to serve as the pulpit minister and I look forward to bringing many challenging and encouraging lessons in 2022.
The Cloudcroft Church of Christ is not a typical church. We don’t have a lot of programs, but we strive to teach the truth of God’s Word and treat people the right way. We are a family of believers committed to growing in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (2 Peter 3:18). We are committed to the Word and to one another.
My goals for 2022 as the preacher are very simple. Paul, inspired by God, told Timothy in 2 Timothy 4:2 Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. That should be the goal of any preacher, to preach the word. Paul also told Timothy in 2 Timothy 3:16 that All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness… If a preacher is to preach the Word effectively he must preach from all of the Word, not just part of it. This means a decent balance between Old and New Testament lessons as well as topical lessons relevant to the times we are living in. That is another goal each and every year, balance. Looking back over the past two years, here is a breakdown on the lessons I have had the privilege to preach.
In the past two years I have preached a total of 95 sermons. Of those 95 sermons 38 were from the New Testament, 32 were from the Old Testament, and 25 were topical. While not a perfect balance it is a decent balance between Old, New, and Topical.
A good sermon should first of all be Biblical, in other words it should be rooted in Scripture, not opinion. Then it should be informative, challenging, encouraging, and relevant. All Scripture is relevant but the goal is to bring out that relevance to the audience. This is what I will strive for in the coming year; to preach biblical, informative, challenging, encouraging, relevant sermons from All of Scripture and on topics that are relevant to the times we live in.
It is a tremendous blessing to serve as the Pulpit Minister in Cloudcroft and I am excited about the future of our congregation in 2022.
Praying everyone has a blessed 2022! In Christ,
Gary T.